


French Braids and Identity Crises

by greenglowsgold



Series: Mirror Mirror [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: (technically a sequel but can be read alone), M/M, fluff and angst bundled together for maximum enjoyment, spoilers for Earth-2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:05:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6078690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenglowsgold/pseuds/greenglowsgold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a few weeks since they finished off Zoom and closed the portals between their worlds, and Cisco won't stop messing with his hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	French Braids and Identity Crises

**Author's Note:**

> Technically this is a follow-up to my other Earth-2 AU fic '[Mirror Mirror](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6025684),' but I think it can probably be read independently of that. The only thing to know is that in this universe Cisco accessed the powers Reverb showed him on Earth-2 and took down Zoom.
> 
> Props to flashsvibe on tumblr for the prompt that got me thinking of this, even though the prompt itself isn't really properly represented, lol.

Cisco was fiddling with his hair, running his fingers through it and tugging at the band that kept it tied back in a bun. He did it so much that a few strands escaped every now and then, falling down around his face until he brushed them back behind his ears. Once, he reached up and ripped the band off completely, only to gather his hair more roughly back and tie it into an even messier bun than the first time.

Barry watched the whole thing, barely taking his eyes off Cisco even as the conversation around them progressed. It was just a weekly check-in, since there wasn’t any particular meta activity right now, so his attention wasn’t so important. Cisco was way more interesting, mostly because his hair kept shifting around in really nice ways, but also because Barry could sometimes see his hands shaking a little while he messed with it. He wanted to reach out and pull Cisco’s hands down somewhere they could be still, and take over responsibility for hair-fiddling himself.

But he couldn’t, because he was on the other side of the room.

Why was that again? Oh, right. Because of that thing they weren’t talking about.

“We’re still meeting up at Jitters on Friday, right?” Caitlin asked, the need for a response finally pulling Barry’s eyes away from Cisco. He nodded.

“Unless I get called away by an angry guy with superpowers at the last minute.”

Cisco scoffed. “Don’t jinx it, man.” His tone was lighthearted, but Barry couldn’t help but notice he didn’t look at him as he said it.

“I wish I could give you back-up more often,” Jay sighed. “I feel bad you’re on-call all the time.”

Barry waved him off. “I’m used to it. Besides, we wanna be sure about the Velocity serums before we start relying on them, right?” He didn’t mention — because neither of them had mentioned, by some unspoken agreement — that there was already someone else around who could give him that kind of back-up if they chose to do it. Which they didn’t. So it wasn’t important.

“The next batch should be ready for testing in a couple of days,” Caitlin said, squeezing Jay’s shoulder and giving him a smile. “Until then, I’m heading home for the night.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Jay offered instantly.

Barry nearly laughed at the eager look on his face. Good, he thought. Caitlin deserved someone who looked _that_ excited at the prospect of spending even two minutes with her. Of course, when they walked out, that left only himself and Cisco alone in the room, about as far away as two people could be and still be part of the same meeting.

Cisco coughed.

“Well,” Barry said. “I guess I’m just gonna… Yeah, I’ll. Go. Probably. Um.” He tried to think of something to add, something that didn’t make it seem like he was trying to leave without saying anything. “Your hair looks nice like that.” He was already mumbling by the end of that short sentence. Weird choice, brain. Time for a quick exit.

As he turned to the door, he heard Cisco respond. “I’m thinking of getting it cut.”

Barry stopped. “Huh?”

Staring at a bit of hair he’d pulled down in front of his face, Cisco shrugged. “It’s long.”

“Uh, yeah…” Barry said, unsure what the problem was. “It always is. I thought you liked it like that.”

Cisco shrugged again. “I guess. I dunno. I kind of want a change.”

Barry had his mouth half-open to ask why before he stopped. Of course. Of _course_ , duh, he already knew why. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been paying any attention to Cisco in the last few weeks since they’d gotten back from Earth-2. It wasn’t like he’d missed the bright clothes, or the sudden appearance of hats, or the way his hairstyle changed almost by the hour. But no matter what he did, it had to be hard not to look like someone who was, essentially, yourself.

He took one full step forward before Cisco looked up and Barry remembered why he’d been standing so far away to begin with. His body tensed, and as fast as he pushed past it, he knew Cisco noticed, because his eyes shot down again. ‘ _Suck it up_ ,’ Barry told himself sternly. ‘ _It wasn’t even permanent._ ’ In fact, they’d been lucky that Wells was there, with his SpeedForce-stealing device primed and ready.

Still.

The moment passed quickly, and Barry kept going until he was standing right in front of Cisco. “You want to change,” he said quietly, and Cisco nodded immediately. “Your hair.” Another nod. “Okay, how about a braid?”

Cisco looked up, eyebrows raised in a question.

“I used to do it for Iris all the time,” Barry said. “Joe taught me. It’s hard to do it yourself, but Iris always said that’s what dads and brothers were for. Anyway, it’ll keep the hair out of your face.”

Cisco still looked a little uncertain, but he nodded. “Sure, I guess. If you want to.”

Barry moved around behind Cisco, conveniently already seated in a chair, and slipped the tie out of his hair, keeping it around his own wrist. He combed out the hair a couple of times before starting to gather it together.

He opted for a loose French, because Cisco’s hair wasn’t quite long enough to get a real, good-sized braid out unless he started up a little higher. Just a few levels; he didn’t remember enough to get too fancy without running the risk of it coming out crooked. He watched Cisco’s shoulder relax by degrees as he twisted his way down the piles of hair.

It wasn’t that Barry was afraid of him, not really. A person could do terrifying things and not be terrifying. He was one of those people himself, assuming he was doing it right. It was just…

Well, it was just that he kept wondering what it meant, that they seemed to be tailor-made to hurt each other. He’d read a hundred cliches that seemed to say that was what love was, but he’d never really bought the idea. He didn’t think Cisco was the sort to believe it, either.

When Barry had reached the end, he tied off the base of the braid, looping the band over three times. “Okay, done.” Immediately, Cisco reached up a hand, going for the braid. Barry grabbed it and pulled it away, moving back around to Cisco’s front. “Hey, no way, I did a good job here and you’re not allowed to pull it apart. I’ll grab you a mirror if you wanna see.”

Cisco seemed far more interested in Barry’s hand gripping his fingers. “Uh, no. That’s okay.” He swallowed, but didn’t move at all, like he thought it would break something. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Barry said, and meant it. “And, listen… I mean, you can cut your hair if you want.” He cleared his throat. “Obviously, duh, it’s your hair, you can— Anyway, if you want a change, that’s fine, but you should know that I kind of like this…” He gestured loosely at Cisco’s hair (mostly). “As is.”

Cisco’s mouth twisted. “Barry, I…”

“I know,” Barry said, when it was clear Cisco couldn’t quite finish the sentence. “Me too.”

He bent down and wrapped his arms around Cisco, pulling in even closer when he felt Cisco hug him in return, hands still shaking slightly against his back. Barry tilted his head to press a kiss into Cisco’s hair, and the grip around him tightened.

They stayed like that for a while. It was a little awkward with Barry leaning over so far, one knee braced against the chair that Cisco sat on, but he didn’t feel like letting go.


End file.
